(Courtesy of: http://www.mysticvoodoo.com/black-cat-folklore.htm)
Probably the most disturbing practice involving the black cat is that of the Black Cat Bone Spell. Although it is European in origin, it is commonly associated with hoodoo and Voodoo. Supposedly, every black cat has one special bone in its body that will either grant the owner invisibility or can be used to bring back a lost lover.
The spell of the black cat's bone can be found in several magical traditions. The first version is from the Book of Saint Ciprian. The second version is from Hoodoo lore.
Version 1:
Cook the body of a black cat in boiling water with white seeds and wood from the willow until the meat is loosened from the bones. Strain the bones in a linen cloth and, in front of the mirror, place the bones, one by one in your mouth, until you find that you have the magic to make you become invisible. Keep the bone with the magic property and, if you want to go somewhere without being seen, place the bone in your mouth.
According to accounts by Nora Zeale Hurston and Harry Middleton Hyatt, both of whom studied hoodoo extensively, this is how the bone is procured (as cited by Cat Yronwode http://www.luckymojo.com/blackcat.html)
"To secure this bone, they said, a black cat must be thrown alive into a cauldron of boiling water at midnight. The animal dies in agony, and the heartless practitioner boils the carcass until the meat falls off the bones. Some say that the special bone will be the top one left when the water boils away, others say it can only be found by placing each bone in turn beneath the tongue while an assistant stands by to notify the practitioner that he has become invisible, and still others swear that if all the bones are thrown into a stream that runs north (uncommon in most of North America), the desired bone will be one that floats on the water and heads south."
Once the bone is obtained, it is carried in a mojo bag and dressed with Van Van oil to bring back a lost lover.
Spell of the Black Cat's Bone
(Courtesy of: http://www.mysticvoodoo.com/black-cat-folklore.htm)Probably the most disturbing practice involving the black cat is that of the Black Cat Bone Spell. Although it is European in origin, it is commonly associated with hoodoo and Voodoo. Supposedly, every black cat has one special bone in its body that will either grant the owner invisibility or can be used to bring back a lost lover.
The spell of the black cat's bone can be found in several magical traditions. The first version is from the Book of Saint Ciprian. The second version is from Hoodoo lore.
Version 1:
Cook the body of a black cat in boiling water with white seeds and wood from the willow until the meat is loosened from the bones. Strain the bones in a linen cloth and, in front of the mirror, place the bones, one by one in your mouth, until you find that you have the magic to make you become invisible. Keep the bone with the magic property and, if you want to go somewhere without being seen, place the bone in your mouth.
http://www.caaenglish.com/cipriano_05_spells.htm
Version 2:
According to accounts by Nora Zeale Hurston and Harry Middleton Hyatt, both of whom studied hoodoo extensively, this is how the bone is procured (as cited by Cat Yronwode http://www.luckymojo.com/blackcat.html)
"To secure this bone, they said, a black cat must be thrown alive into a cauldron of boiling water at midnight. The animal dies in agony, and the heartless practitioner boils the carcass until the meat falls off the bones. Some say that the special bone will be the top one left when the water boils away, others say it can only be found by placing each bone in turn beneath the tongue while an assistant stands by to notify the practitioner that he has become invisible, and still others swear that if all the bones are thrown into a stream that runs north (uncommon in most of North America), the desired bone will be one that floats on the water and heads south."
Once the bone is obtained, it is carried in a mojo bag and dressed with Van Van oil to bring back a lost lover.
Black Cat Bone References in Music
...Got a black cat bone
got a mojo too,
I got John the Conqueror root,
I'm gonna mess with you...
—"Hoochie Coochie Man," Muddy Waters (Complete lyrics)
Watch or listen to Muddy Waters: "Hoochie Coochie Man"
Watch Albert Collins: Black Cat Bone
Watch the modern "Black Cat Bones" Blues Band